Splitting-machine.



A. W. EATON.

SPLITTING ISlIAGHINE.

APPLIGATION FILED AUG. 27, 1910.

1,128,300, Patented Feb. 16, I915.

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ARTHUR W. EATON, OF WENHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSJIGNOR T UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATER-SON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SPLITTING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 16, 1915.

Application filed August 27, 1910. Serial n). 579,2 4.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR W. EATON, a citizen of the United States, residing at \Venham, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Splitting-Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters I on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to splitting and skiving machines and is hereinillustrated as embodied in a machine for splitting leather.

Machines equipped with reciprocating knives have been found to possess certain advantages in splitting stock more particularly in splitting soft and flimsy stock, these advantages arising principally from the fact that a knife of this type produces a drawing cut. Owing, however, to the fact that during the periodic dwells of such a knife, while its direction of movement is being reversed, there is no corresponding pause or change in the movement of the stock, the knife acts during these dwells as a fixed knife. The result, particularly where soft and flimsy stock is being op erated upon, is that a slight wave or wrinkle is produced in the stock between the bite of the feed rolls and the edge of the temporarily motionless knife, and the top of this wave or wrinkle is removed by the 35 knife upon its next stroke. There is thus produced a series of narrow depressions on the flesh side of the finished Piece, and if the piece is sufficiently thin the effect of these depressions is visible on the grain side. Accordingly, in order to produce a machine which shall be capable of splitting soft stock in a satisfactory manner as well as to improve. generally the operation of machines of the type referred to above, one 45 feature of this invention consists in the provision with a reciprocating knife ofmeans for feeding a piece of stock thereto, said feeding means having provision for causing a change in the feeding movement during 50 the times that the direction. of niovementof said knife is being reversed. In the illus trated embodiment this change takes the form of pauses which are timed to take place during the short pauses in the moveinent of the knife; and in order to insure theproduction ,of a uniformly smooth surfaceon the leather, these pauses in the feeding movement are prolonged to cover the time consumed by the last portions of the movements of the knife toward its extreme positions and the first portions of its move ments away from said positions as well as the extremely short times during which the knife is motionless Any suitable means for accomplishing this result may beemployed, and in the illustrated embodiment of the invention the leather is fed to the knife by means of rolls which are rotated by gears, the co-acting portions of which are so formed as to produce the periodic pauses referred to above. v I

In machines wherein a reciprocating knife is used it is sometimes desirable to vary the extent of movement of the knife, said variation serving also, in the absence of corresponding changes in the gearing or other parts of the machine, to vary the velocity of each stroke. Accordingly, another feature of this invention consists in the provision of such means; and in the illustrated embodiment the knife is reciprocated by a lever which is oscillated about a fulcrum, the

mounting. of the lever being such that the position of the fulcrum maybe varied without varying the relative position of the lever necessary to adjust either thefeeding mech- I A 10o anism or the mechanism which actuates the knife. Accordingly, another feature ofthis invention consists in the provision with a reciprocating knife and means for feeding stock ther o, s d mea aha ine rr i for causing changes vin the feeding ,movement to take place intimed relation withthe reciprocations of knife of means for y n aid tim ire a a- .I he il trat d embo iment o th ,inventiQ1 h@ r 1 cruin of the lever which actuates the knife may be held stationary if desired and the lever adjusted with respect to it as well as with respect to the actuating mechanism of said lever.

These and other features of the invention including certain details of construction and combinations of parts will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings:Figure 1 is a sectional view, taken on line A of Fig, 2, of a portion of a splitting machine in which the present invention is embodied, part of the knife block and its supporting bracket being broken away; Fig. 2 is a plan of certain portions of the machine; Fig. 3 is a detail elevation of portions of the mechanism for driving the upper feed roll; and Fig. 1 is a detail perspective showing the mechanism for adjusting the throw of the knife.

Carried by the frame 1 of the machine are two alined studs 3 and upon these studs are pivoted brackets, one of each of which is shown at 2 and 4:, by which the upper and lower feed rolls 5 and 7 as well as the driving shaft 9 are supported, this mounting being provided so that the rolls may be adjusted toward and from each other about the axis of the studs 3 without disturbing the mesh of the gears which drive the roll. The brackets 2 for the upper feed roll are connected by a carrier 11 in which are mounted two supporting rolls 13, the function of which is to prevent the upper feed roll from bending when stock is being fed through the machine, said upper roll being made of comparatively small diameter. These supporting rolls carry gears 15 and 17 respectively, said gears meshing with a gear 19 which is fast to the shaft 18 of the upper feed roll. The lower roll 7 and the driving shaft 9 are both carried by the brackets 4. Eccentrics not shown, operated by means of hand holds 21 and 23 serve to adjust the bearings of the feed rolls toward and from each other about the axis of the studs 3.

The construction indicated above will not be further described since it forms no part of the present invention. It will be under stood, however, that the feed rolls, when actuated by mechanism presently to be described, serve to advance the stock to the knife 23. This knife is adjustably fastened by means of bolts, one of which is shown at 25, to a knife block 27, the bolts passing through slots 26 in the knife and the adjustment being effected by set screws, one of which is shown at 29. The knife block slides in a guideway formed in a bracket 31 which is bolted to the frame of the machine, said guideway having a movable wall 33 which may be adjusted to compensate for wear by set screws one of which is shown at 35 threaded. through an upstanding portion of the bracket 31 and held in position by set nuts one of which is shown at 39. Pivoted to the knife block at ell is a link 43, the opposite end of which is pivoted at 4:5 to a lever 47 and this lever at its opposite end carries a pin 19 which travels in the cam way 51 of a cam wheel 53 fast to the shaft 9. This lever 17 is mounted in a manner presently to be described to oscillate about the passing through the center of the bolt The shaft 9 carries a driving pulley 56 and it will be apparent that when the pulley is rotated the knife will be reciprocated.

In those machines of this type wherein the stock is constantly advanced in a direc-' tion at right angles to the edge of a reciprocating knife, a difliculty arises by reason of the fact that at two points in its path the knife is stationary and in those stationary positions a draw out is not produced. The present machine is accordingly equipped with means for causing a change in the feeding movement of the stock during the time that the knife is stationary or approximately so. Mounted near one end of the shaft 9 is a mutilated gear 57 which meshes with a larger gear 59 fast to the shaft of the lower feed roll 7. Near the opposite end of the shaft 9 is mounted a gear 61 which meshes with a gear 63, said latter gear being fast to a sleeve which is rotatably mounted on one of the studs 3. Also fast to this sleeve is a mutilated gear 65 which meshes with a larger gear 67 fast to the shaft which carries the upper feed roll 5. The regular succession of the teeth of the gears 59 and 67 is interrupted by wide teeth the outlines of the outer ends of which are arcs the radii of which are equal to the radii of the corresponding arcs that form the outlines of the outer faces of the mutilated portions of the gears 5'? and 65. l/Vith the gears in the position shown in Fig. 1 and supposing the gear 57 to be rotating counter-clockwise, the gear 59 will be rotated clockwise until the mutilated portion 69 of the smaller gear comes into contact with the wide tooth 71 of the larger gear whereupon the gear 59 will remain stationary during the time that it takes for the tooth 73 to come into contact with the side 7 9 of the wide tooth 71, the co-acting outer faces of the mutilated portion of the gear 57 and of the wide tooth 71 slipping upon each other during this interval. A similar slippage will take place simultaneously between the gears 65 and 67, and these slippages are timed to occur during the reversal of direction of the movement of the knife. In order to insure that the surface produced upon the leather shall be uniformly smooth, the cessation of movement of the gears 59 and 67 and hence of the rotation of the feed rolls is prolonged to cover the last portions of the movement of the knife toward its extreme positions as well as the first portions of its movements away from said positions so that-during the cuttingportion of its strokes the knife is moving with sufficient velocity.

Under certain circumstances itmay be desirable to vary the extent of the throw of the knife, and in order to accomplish this as well as to vary the timed relation of the movement of the knife with respect tothat of the feed rolls, if desired, a construction, illustrated more particularly in Fig. 4, is provided. The bracket 31 is provided with a rigid extension 81 which has formed therein a T-shaped slot to receive the flat head 83 and the shank of the bolt 55 so-that when desired the position of the bolt with respect to the extension may be varied. Surrounding this bolt is a sleeve 85 having a flange 87 which is adapted to cooperate with the flat head 83 in gripping the extension 81 and thereby holding the bolt 55 rigidly in adjusted position. In order to cause the flange 87 and the head 83 to grip the extension 81, as indicated above, a washer 89 contacts with the upper end of the sleeve and is acted upon by a nut 91 threaded upon the upper portion of the-ibolt 55. Mounted loosely upon the sleeve 85 so that it is free to oscillate thereupon is a block 93 having projecting flanges 95, and this block is slidably mounted in the suitably shaped slot 9% in the lever 47. Above this block and adapted to be drawn toward it by a screw 97 is a clamping member 99. The ends of this clamping member are slidable along inclined ledges 101 formed by cutting away the upper portions of the walls of the slot in the lever 4-7, said clampingmember being held by said ledges slightly above the upper surface of the block 93. The screw 97 passes freely through the clamping member 99 and is threaded into the block 93 so that when said screw is tightened the block 93 is held rigid with the lever 47. With the construction described above, it is, there fore, possible to vary the throw of the knife and at the same time to vary or not to vary, as may be desired, the timed relation of the pauses in the movement of the knife with respect to the pauses in the movements of the feed roll. In order to vary the throw of the knife without varying the timed relation referred to above, the nut 91 and the screw 97 are loosened. The block 93 may then be moved along in the slot in the lever 47 and clamped in any desired position in said slot, this change in the position of the block serving merely to change the position of the fulcrum of the lever 47 without changing the relation of the pin 19 to the camway 51. The effect of this will be to change the velocity as well as the length of each stroke of the knife without necessitating any further adjustment .of the mecha' ni'sms which actuate :the knife and rolls. In order to vary the throw of the-knife andat the same time to vary the timed relation :of the feed mechanismand the knife the screw 97 only is loosened-and the lever moved with respect to =the'bl'ock 93. This adjustment, while varying the throw of the knife, also moves the pin 19 in the slot 51- and thereby varies the timed relationof the feeding movement to that of the knife.

The operation of the machine is as follows :.Power having been applied to the pulley 56, a piece of stock is fed between the rolls 5 and 7 and thereby advanced to the reciprocating knife. The stock is fed forward intermittently :owing to the action of the driving :gearsand the pauses in the feeding -movement are timed to take place during-the reversal of .direction of the movementof the knife. The *knife thereforeacts at allv times )IIPOII the leather with a draw out so :that a-verysmooth surface is produced and soft and flimsy stock may readily be .split.

Although the invention has been set forth in connection with a splitting machine, it should be understood that it is applicable to other-cutting machines and is not limited in the scope of its applicationto the particular machine shown and described.

Having thus described my invention,-what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A machine ofthe class described having, in combination, a knife, means for reciprocating said knife in a direction to produce Ia draw cut .on the stock, and means for feeding a piece of stock thereto during said draw out, said feeding means being constructed and arranged to cause a change in the feeding movement during the time that the direction of .movement of saidknife is being reversed. I

2. A machine of the class described having, in combination a knife, means for reciprocating said knife in a direction to produce a draw out on the stock, means for feeding stock thereto during said draw out and means for causing a periodic change in the actuation .of the feeding means during 1 the time that the direction of movement of the'kni-fe is being reversed.

3. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife, means-for feeding stock intermittently to said knife, and means for moving said knife intermittently in the plane of the path of said feeding movement, the pauses in the feed being timed to take place during the pauses in the movement of the knife. I

4. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife, means for feedpauses in the feed being timed to occur when the knife is at the ends of its path.

5. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife, means for feed- -ing stock thereto, means for reciprocating said knife in the plane of the path of the feeding movement, and means for interrupting the feeding movement of the stock when the knife approaches the end of its path.

6. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife, means for forcing the edge of the stock against said knife while said knife is moving, means for reoiprocating said knife, and means for causing the forcing movement to cease during the periodic cessation of movement of the knife.

7. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife, means for reciprocating said knife in a direction to produce a draw out on the stock, a plurality of rolls for feeding stock thereto, and means for rotating said rolls intermittently.

8. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife, a plurality of rolls for feeding stock thereto, means for.

reciprocating said knife in the plane of the path of the feeding movement, and means for actuating said rolls, said actuating means comprising gears having co-acting faces shaped to cause periodic pauses in the actuation of said rolls.

9. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife, means for re ciprocating said knife, a plurality of feed rolls arranged in cooperative relation therewith, a set of gears rigid with said rolls, a second set of gears arranged to drive said first set, the gears of one set being mutilated and those of the other having wide teeth the outer faces of which are constructed to slide on the outer faces of the mutilated portions of the first set of gears to produce periodic pauses in the rotation of the rolls, and means for rotating one of said sets of gears and through it the other.

1.0. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife, means for re ciprocating said knife in a direction to pro= duce a draw out on the stock, means for feeding stock to said knife and means for varying the extent of reciprocation of said knife.

11. A machine of the class described hav ing, in combination, a knife, means for reciprocating said knife in a direction to produce a draw out on the stock, a plurality of rolls for feeding stock thereto and means for varying the extent of reciprocation of said knife.

12. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife, means for feed ing stock thereto and means for reciprocating said knife in a direction to produce a draw out on the stock, said 1ast-named means comprising a lever and a fulcrum about which said lever oscillates, said fulcrum being adjustable with respect to the lever as well as with respect to the frame of the machine.

13. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife, means for feeding a piece of stock so as to force its edge against the edge of said knife, means for causing periodic pauses in the feeding movement, means for reciprocating said knife in timed relation with said feeding movement whereby the periodic cessations of movement of the piece of stock are coincident with the periodic cessations of movement of the knife, and means for varying the throw of the knife while maintaining said timed relation.

let. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife, means for reciprocating said knife in a direction to produce a draw cut on the stock, said means in cluding a lever, a fulcrum for said lever and means for oscillating said lever about said fulcrum, means for feeding stock to said knife, and means for causing periodic pauses in said feeding movement, said fulcrum being adjustable with respect to said lever while maintaining the relation of said lever and said oscillating means.

15. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife, means for reciprocating said knife in a direction to produce a draw cut on the stock, means for feeding stock thereto, said means being constructed and arranged to cause changes in the feeding movement to take place in timed relation with the reciprocations of said knife, and means for varying said timed re lation.

16. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife, means for feeding stock thereto, means for reciprocating said knife in a direction to produce a draw out on the stock, said last-named means com prising a lever and a fulcrum about which said lever oscillates, and means for holding said fulcrum rigid with the frame of the machine, said lever being adjustable with respect to said fulcrum.

17. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife, means for feed ing stock intermittently thereto, a link connected with said knife, a lever connected with said link, an adjustable fulcrum about which said lever is adapted to oscillate, a block normally fast to said lever, said block being adapted to be oscillated about said fulcrum and being adjustable with respect to said lever, and means for oscillating said. lever.

18. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife, means for reciprocating said knife, a plurality of rolls for advancing the stock with its edge pre-v 'sented to the reciprocating knife, means for causing a change in the actuation of the rolls rotating said rolls, and means for periodiduring the time that the direction of the cally changing the movement of said rolls. movement of the knife is being reversed.

19. A machine of the class described hav In testimony whereof I have signed my 5 ing, in combination, a knife, means for rename to this specification in the presence of 1 ciprocating said knife in a direction to protwo subscribing witnesses. duce a draw out upon the edge of the stock ARTHUR W. EATON. to split it, a plurality of rolls for feeding Witnesses: the stock during the splitting operation, CHESTER E. ROGERS, 10 means for rotating said rolls, and means for HATTIE S. CHARLES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of l'atents,

Washington, D. G. 

